Sharon A. Hill<p><strong>Pop Cryptid Spectator 13</strong></p><p>Hello and welcome to the Pop Cryptid Spectator no. 13.</p><p>In this edition:</p><ul><li>The crypt-illogical slip into the irrational</li><li>News people don’t know their animals</li><li>AI cryptid articles – It’s how stuff works</li><li>Cryptid merch: Squishables Mothman series</li><li>The Hebridean Mermaid</li><li>Ogopogo float may sink</li><li>Cryptid Media: More podcasts</li></ul><p><strong>The crypt-illogical slip into the irrational</strong></p><p>I focus very much on the present, popular, news and views of cryptozoology, but when I look at traditional cryptozoology, I find that the most cogent writing clearly points in the direction of today’s Pop Cryptids. For example, Adrian Shine appeared on <a href="https://www.monstertalk.org/s04e26-a-natural-history-of-sea-serpents-with-adrian-shine/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the latest episode of Monster Talk</a> to discuss his lifelong research into sea serpents, and lake monsters claims in Scotland in his new book A<em> Natural History of Sea Serpents</em>. In this interview, Shine shares his wisdom gained from synthesizing decades of careful observation, and this is enlightening. </p><p>Among the wise things he said so eloquently, he noted that cryptozoology was a way to rationalize monsters. At its time of inception, that made sense: cryptozoology attempted to remove the magical aspects about mystery creatures, and apply science to the process of discovering amazing new animals. But, as he also says, hidden animals require lost worlds. We have very few of these “lost worlds” left, and people aren’t exploring them due to our natural limits (such as the ability to spend time in the deep ocean). If there are animals, there, they aren’t cryptids, they are just new to us. Therefore, that negates the formation of lore about them that defines a cryptid.</p><p>We aren’t going to find a Yeti or Nessie because it is clear after all these centuries that the stories were not reflecting real animals as collectively described, but a monstrous interpretation fed by cultural factors and confirmation bias. Current monster hunters will disagree but I’m being logical, here. The scientific evidence for real cryptids has not improved.</p><p>Today’s shift back to seeing cryptids as less zoological is, in a way, rational – in a cultural sense. As people attempt to create an alternate world of magic and mystery, adding cryptids to the fantasy environment makes sense. The colorful world of pop cryptids is what we get from that reconstruction. The cryptids don’t make zoological sense, but they make cultural sense.</p><p>As I wrote in a review of Shine’s book in <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-7/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">PCS 7,</a> <em>A Natural History of Sea Serpe</em>nts is a fantastic book and I could listen to Adrian Shine talk all day long, he’s astute and articulate. I deeply appreciate his careful research that helps me see old cases in a new light, find the through-lines of this complex subject, and understand the wider view.</p><p>Meanwhile, I hate to admit, the cryptid content that mostly appears in media – made by amateur researchers, people seeking an alternative reality, or just jokers – is not high quality (with only a few rare exceptions). It’s not even very creative. But because cryptids are a mainstream thing now, anything goes. And anything, no matter how poorly done, how ridiculous, or how misleading, will get clicks. See the following two examples. </p><p><strong>News people don’t know their animals</strong></p><p>You can bet that the “mystery animal” videos that get shown on the local news reports are going to contain some cringeworthy comments by the reporters. TV news anchors read what’s been written for them and respond and ad lib based only on whatever background info them have. They usually don’t know anything about a natural subject. One sad side effect of Pop Cryptids is that many now know the names of local cryptids and throw them out there as “possibilities”. In the process, they reveal shallow knowledge of the lore and history of the creature, and ignorance of the local wildlife. These <a href="https://www.kktv.com/video/2025/04/07/creepy-creature-caught-camera-pueblo/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">three news personnel from Pueblo, Colorado speculate on what this animal is</a> from a dark and grainy video. At least they recognize the red eyes may be a camera artifact, but one suggests it’s a chupacabra. In a broadcast <a href="https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/it-was-also-hissing-at-me-creepy-critter-spotted-in-colorado" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">on another station</a>, the pair of presenters also give ridiculous opinions (such as it’s a person dressed up). The Colorado wildlife officials said it might be a raccoon with mange. </p> Not a chupacabra. <p>My initial thought is that it’s a <a href="https://texasexoticanimals.com/white-nosed-coati/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">coati</a>, an animal found as far north as Arizona and sometimes kept as a pet. It’s not unusual to see coati in unexpected places. It’s unclear what it’s doing in Colorado, but it’s only a “cryptid” is the loosest interpretation of the word. Meanwhile, mystery mongering sites like Coast to Coast AM promoted this story with a sensationalist headline. This kind of treatment is really disappointing and leads to the audience being misinformed or alarmed. There is no good excuse for such awful framing of an interesting animal story.</p> <p><strong>AI cryptid articles – It’s how stuff works</strong></p><p>I have mentioned <a href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/ai-cryptids/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AI generated cryptids</a> several times in this publication – videos, photos, and monsters that came from AI image-generation apps. But now I’m starting to notice that AI-written articles on cryptids are becoming a common thing. Several “infotainment” sites quickly generate pieces to capitalize on a trending news story or subject. Cryptids are one of those topics. The popular site <em>How Stuff Works</em> revealed just how their stuff works, by using AI to produce a recent article on the Loveland Frog. This article followsr news coverage for the frogman’s festival in March. The content is unoriginal, just more AI slop we have to wade through.</p> <p><strong>Squishables Mothman series</strong></p><p><em>Squishables</em> are sold in many toy and gift stores across the country. Their newest series of cuddly plushies is an array of fun Mothman critters. My favorite is the Rosy Maple mothman (genius!) – modeled after the stunning yellow and pink rosy maple moth (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryocampa_rubicunda" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dryocampa rubicunda</a>). I remember the first time I saw a rosy maple moth and could not believe it was real! And now it’s a variety of mothman. Check out the <a href="https://squishable.com/collections/alter-egos" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">other varieties</a>.</p> <p><strong>The Hebridean Mermaid</strong></p><p>A woman who pretends to be a mermaid <a href="https://news.stv.tv/highlands-islands/scots-woman-becomes-real-mermaid-and-brings-ancient-hebridean-folklore-to-life-in-bbc-series" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">landed a gig promoting a new BBC series</a> about mermaid tales and folklore around the waters of northern Scotland. Looks like a cool topic for programming!</p><p>Many people “become” mermaids by donning tails and learning how to dance underwater. If you aren’t aware of how popular indulging in mermaid fantasy is these days is, you can check out a series on Netflix called MerPeople. It’s an eye-opener.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7hUc8HVSFk" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7hUc8HVSFk</a></p><p>Old-school cryptozoologist-types reject mermaids as cryptids, calling them “fantasy” creatures. But this take is proof of how the idea of ‘cryptids’ is selective and <em>changes over time</em>. There are undoubtedly cases in the centuries gone by, and even now in non-Western news reports, of people who say they have <strong>seen</strong> mermaids. It’s no joke. Although many faked videos attempt to capitalize on that belief, most are poorly done hoaxes. </p><p>Remember in 2012, there was a huge hubbub about <em>Mermaids: A Body Found</em> aired on the Discovery Network. There was NO doubt that more than a few people who knew nothing of nature accepted that <em>Mermaids: A Body Found</em> was a science show about real mermaids.</p><p>Are mermaids cryptids? Absolutely. They are legendary, culturally known, and we have plenty of documented claims asserting they really exist, and some that claim they had been captured. There is no line between cryptids and folklore/fantasy creatures now. It’s all the same concept.</p><p><strong>Ogopogo float may sink</strong></p><p>The City of Kelowna, B.C. has had a parade float for decades. The most popular design for the float has been that of the local Lake Okanagan monster, Ogopogo. <a href="https://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/news/article_f717af97-148b-4e8f-b902-6b504b69a224.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">According to <em>The Kelowna Courier</em></a>, for more than 50 years, the float has featured various representations of Ogopogo. Back in 2016, there was an idea to highlight other tourism opportunities of Kelowna with the float. That didn’t go over well, and after a public outcry, the town’s beloved cryptid was restored. Now the float requires repairs and the city council determined they just can’t afford the steep price tag. So, Canadian parades will be without Ogopogo for a time.</p><p><strong>Cryptid Media: More podcasts</strong></p><p>Here’s another podcast recommendation. Check out <a href="https://squaringthestrange.libsyn.com/episode-250-cryptids-go-pop-with-sharon-hill" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Squaring the Strange episode no 250</a> – Cryptids go Pop! where I was invited to discuss my interests, and this publication, with Ben and Celestia.</p><p>For some deep dives, check out the Bigfoot two-part episode and the Loch Ness Monster three-part treatment from the <a href="https://mythillogical.libsyn.com" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mythillogical podcast</a> – a well-researched tour through the folklore aspects of these two cryptids. If Charles and Crofty are reading, feel free to message me if you need help with North American pronunciations. </p> <p>Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to sharon(at)sharonahill.com. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.</p><p>For more, click on <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-goes-the-cryptid/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop goes the Cryptid landing page</a>. Make sure you <a href="https://sharonahill.com/subscribe-to-posts/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">subscribe </a>to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. </p><p>Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on <a href="https://sharonahill.substack.com/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Substack</a>. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!</p> <span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator</span> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-12/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 12</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-12/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 12</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-11/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 11</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-11/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 11</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-10/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 10</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-10/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 10</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-9/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 9</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-9/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 9</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-8/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 8</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-8/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 8</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-7/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 7</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-7/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 7</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-issue-6/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 6</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-issue-6/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 6</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-5/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 5</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-5/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 5</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-4/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 4</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-4/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 4</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-3/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 3</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-3/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 3</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-2/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 2</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-2/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 2</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-1/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 1</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-1/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 1</a></strong></p> <p></p> <p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/1/" target="_blank">#1</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/chupacabra/" target="_blank">#chupacabra</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" 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#AICryptids
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Sharon A. Hill<p><strong>Pop Cryptid Spectator 12</strong></p><p>Hello and welcome to Pop Cryptid Spectator no 12 – an “approximately weekly” collection of thoughts and opinions about Pop Cryptids. What are Pop Cryptids? Well, I’ve been working on idea that for a while now and it is coalescing around the observation that cryptozoology is far less about zoology than about the various creatures of cryptozoology and their popularity. And, the subject creatures are far less zoological than ever before, at least since the term “cryptozoology” was invented. Hence, this week’s collection of the various examples of how mainstream cryptids are these days.</p><p>In this edition:</p><ul><li>New cryptid alert: North American Pine Squid</li><li>Bigfoot in the Backyard</li><li>Be the Bigfoot</li><li>Cryptid media: Nessie, the Musical</li><li>Big little cat makes headlines in UK</li><li>Fiji mermaid seen at Margate beach in Kent</li><li>The mokele-mbembandwagon</li></ul><p><strong>North American Pine Squid</strong></p><p>I bet you haven’t heard of this cryptid! Or, if you live on YouTube, you might have. But if you know of hoaxes from the late 1990s, it might sound familiar. The North American pine squid is being touted online, particularly on TikTok, as a large, black mass of tentacles that emerges from a pine tree and feeds on people and/or pinecones. The creature is said to be lurking in the forests of the Pacific Northwest and the Appalachians (clue <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/1/" target="_blank">#1</a> – these would likely be different species because of the lack of pine forests in between). It “swims” above the forest floor. From what I can tell, the tall tale of this fearsome creature went mainstream around September of 2024. I totally missed it, maybe because I’m not a regular consumer of TikTok that is like 90% garbage content. The <em>NAPS</em> is a rip off of the Pacific Northwest tree octopus, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest_tree_octopus" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hoax</a> from 1998. But, hey, it’s the 21st century and <em>we can haz AI naow</em>! Someone birthed the new, more evil variant and it grew. So we can count the <em>NAPS</em> as another in a growing list of AI cryptids. And, make no mistake, there are many people who have no education regarding the natural world and may assume these are real animals. Here is <a href="https://sypstudios.com/north-american-pine-squid" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the “fascinating truth”</a> about the pine squid.</p><p><strong>Bigfoot in the Backyard</strong></p><p>A group of National Weather Service investigators, documenting storm damage, captured an image of a dark figure in the woods west of Uniontown, in western Pennsylvania. The incident made it to the local news. What they saw was not Bigfoot but an extremely common Bigfoot sillouette placed in the forested land surrounding the property. Bigfoot sighting reports are quite common here, as the area is part of the Chestnut Ridge, now known as a “Gateway to the Paranormal” thanks to a local county tourism initiative. I often wonder who makes the choices about stories to include in the news. But, maybe it was someone who wanted to demostrate the Pop Cryptid idea. You will quickly run out of fingers with which to count the properties who have a Bigfoot sign or marker in their yard like this or more obvious. They abound. People seem to enjoy displaying their love for Bigfoot, or their hope that the yard ornaments will attract a curious monster, or at least some like-minded neighbors. Check out the <a href="https://www.foxweather.com/lifestyle/big-foot-sasquatch-messmore" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">article</a>, if you can spare a minute you will never get back.</p><p><strong>Be the Bigfoot</strong></p><p>If you really are obsessed by Bigfoot, soon you will have the opportunity to be one in a digital simulation called Bigfoot Life. The Demo is out now. You can scare animals and other humans, throw rocks, bang on a tree with a big stick, eat berries, steal picnic baskets, etc.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOX_lUAs1Dw" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOX_lUAs1Dw</a></p><p><strong>Cryptid media: Nessie, the Musical</strong></p><p>The Guardian posted a short trip through some interesting depictions of the Loch Ness monster on TV and in film. The headline for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/mar/24/simpsons-werner-herzog-nessie-nessies-david-lean-loch-ness-monster" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“From The Simpsons to Werner Herzog: the coolest, craziest, scariest Nessies ever”</a> turned out to be misleading and disappointing as the short-ish article only touched upon a handful of selections including an appearance on The Simpsons, and the movies <em>The Secret of the Loch</em>, and <em>Incident at Loch Ness</em> (which I need to rewatch because it was lots of fun). Mostly the piece was intended to publicize a new Nessie musical in Edinburgh this summer.</p><p><strong>Big little cat makes headlines in UK</strong></p><p>Hardly a week goes by without some story from the UK adding to the rumors that big cats (usually of the zoologically ambiguous “black panther” type) are slinking around the villages and fields. The examples are almost universally terrible. But people want so badly to believe they have encountered the elusive creatures, which are typically named after their locations (Beast of Bucks, in this case). This recent claim comes from a man who lives “near” Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England and it’s accompanied by a video. The entirely black feline is seen on the edge of a “skip” or dumpster in USAnian English, and then it jumps in to pick at the trash. The video does not show it exiting so we never see the creature head on. You can see the video <a href="https://whatsthejam.com/pets-and-animals/big-cat-feared-to-be-on-loose-after-mystery-beast-spotted-on-skip-in-village/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>. This is not a big cat. It’s a hefty domestic cat. The camera location and angle give the impression of it being large. But it does not at all resemble a jaguar or leopard (the only two wild cats that fall under the general term “black panther”). Many photographic and video claims show similar black felines that are all almost certainly just regular house cats where the surroundings allow for a perception of exaggerated size.</p> <p>As an aside, in the US, our locally named beasts aren’t usually big cats but varieties of bipedal monsters. (Beast of Whitehall, Beast of Boggy Creek, Beast of Bray Road, etc.)</p><p><strong>Fiji mermaid seen at Margate beach in Kent</strong></p><p>A news story circulated this week about a couple walking the beach on March 10 in Margate, Kent, England, who came across a strange object. With a front described as “skeletal” and the back end of a fish, the object, which looks to be about 2 ft long, is a replica of the Fiji mermaid. The original story from <a href="https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/mystery-surrounds-skeleton-like-figure-discovered-on-kent-321665/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kent Online</a> didn’t pick up on this but subsequent outlets recognized the relation to the infamous hoax from 19th century associated with P.T. Barnam. Clearly, this object copies that depiction. However, what was most frustrating is that no article that I could find described what the Margate object was made from. There is no way it could have survived made of a real fish and paper mache – and it definately does not look like a genuine fish tale. It seems most likely it was made of resin. I could not find a good match online; the head is more alien-like than most depictions. Also, there is no mention of who picked it up and took it, because SOMEONE had to. This makes me think that it could have been a deliberate plant as a hoax.</p><p><strong>The mokele-mbembandwagon</strong></p><p>In <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-7/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">PCS no. 7</a>, I linked to an article on SyFy that was spun off from a February <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/congo-basin-mokele-mbembe-deforestation" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nat Geo article</a> regarding the increased local sightings of mokele-mbembe in the Congo Basin in Africa. The Nat Geo article was a good one, noting the resurgence of a contemporary legend in response to deforestation in the region. The story of this cryptid began in the very early 20th century when it was framed as a “saurian”. Cryptozoologists and Creationists loved the highly romanticized, “Lost World” idea of a surviving dinosaur living in the unexplored African jungles. With the rise of Pop Cryptids in culture, mokele-mbembe is having another spotlight moment along with growing interest in sightings of other prehistoric survivor cryptids such as Kasai Rex, the thunderbird, megalodon, and the ropen. This week, not only did IFLScience copy SyFy (I often think these two enties are related), but now <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a64220094/mokele-mbembe-dinosaur-congo/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Popular Mechanics</a> joined the fun with an article that took snippets from knowledgable writers such as Darren Naish (who is an expert on the “Prehistoric Survivor Paradigm” – the cryptozoological habit of resurrecting extinct animals as potential explanations for mystery animal reports), Eddie Guimont, and Loren Coleman regarding their view of living dinosaurs to get clicks related to the creature. Like the other copycats, this article uses the same brontosaurus imagery and also drops clues that the writer doesn’t actually know much about cryptozoology. At least this piece may introduce readers to the thoughts of more qualified individuals than those of Creationists or uncritical cryptozoological explorers who seem to simply embellish and repeat witness stories. </p><p>There remains zero evidence that any large creature that went extinct many millions of years ago is still out there for us to find. But the facts never seem to stand in the way of a good story about popular cryptids.</p><p>According to Google trends, it does not appear that people are searching for more info on mokele-mbembe. Maybe they don’t know how to spell it. But speculation on the creature regularly turns up on Reddit and in other online cryptid content.</p><p>For more on the background of cryptids as extinct animals, see my 2014 article <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/prehistoric-survivors-they-are-really-most-sincerely-dead/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Prehistoric Survivors? They are Really, Most Sincerely Dead”</a>. (Excuse the terrible formatting, though, since the publishing website never checked their pages after a upgrade years ago.)</p><p>And to close out, I was sent this pic of a very cryptid sign posted at the Venice canals in California this week. </p> <p>Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to sharon(at)sharonahill.com. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.</p><p>For more, click on <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-goes-the-cryptid/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop goes the Cryptid landing page</a>. Make sure you <a href="https://sharonahill.com/subscribe-to-posts/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">subscribe </a>to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. </p><p>Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on <a href="https://sharonahill.substack.com" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Substack</a>. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!</p> <span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator</span> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-11/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 11</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-11/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 11</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-10/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 10</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-10/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 10</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-9/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 9</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-9/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 9</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-8/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 8</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-8/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 8</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-7/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 7</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-7/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 7</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-issue-6/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 6</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-issue-6/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 6</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-5/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 5</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-5/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 5</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-4/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 4</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-4/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 4</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-3/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 3</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-3/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 3</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-2/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 2</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-2/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 2</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-1/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 1</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-1/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 1</a></strong></p> <p></p> <p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/1/" target="_blank">#1</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/chupacabra/" target="_blank">#chupacabra</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptid/" target="_blank">#cryptid</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptozoology/" target="_blank">#Cryptozoology</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" 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Sharon A. Hill<p><strong>Pop Cryptid Spectator 11</strong></p><p>Welcome to the Pop Cryptid Spectator, the newsletter that goes to 11. So far. I am never short of examples to share that illustrate the <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-goes-the-cryptid/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid model</a> – where cryptids have moved into the mainstream for several social and economic uses but away from the zoological idea of discovery of new animals.</p><p>In this edition:</p><ul><li>Digital hoaxes flooding social media</li><li>Questioning the assumptions we make about supernatural cryptids</li><li>Cryptid media – The Sasqualogist</li><li>Blurry feral Florida cat causes a stir</li><li>Loch Ness Quest 3</li><li>Royal Mail mythical stamps</li><li>Cryptids are “hot”, particularly in WV</li></ul><p><strong>Digital hoaxes flooding social media</strong></p><p>If you can create digitally enhanced or AI-manufactured videos, you are in business these days. I don’t know how to do this but I suspect all it takes is some tech know-how, some raw material to start with, and a creative imagination. Digitally manufactured creature shorts make up about half of a TikTok <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptids/" target="_blank">#cryptids</a> feed. Shorts are easily shared and also show up in Facebook feeds and on YouTube. </p><p>There are two general categories of these videos. First is the obvious artistic, fun hoax. Only the pathologically gullible viewers will think these depict real creatures (that’s usually around 20% but that depends, read on). The second kind is content that seems fake in the context of all the other fakes, but it’s not obvious because it looks like the typical cryptid video – blurry, too far away, and leaving room to imagine what you are seeing. Or, it shows just enough of a strange creature to convince you that it’s a legit but weird.</p><p><strong>The fun hoax</strong></p><p>The majority of “cryptid” short videos are obviously fictional. Frightening and bizarre creatures are shown oddly well lit in a cave or underground workings, or in a house or backyard setting accompanied by creepy music. The creatures may not be immediately identifiable because they are derived from exaggerated or extra features of real animals or people – giant size and terrifying teeth are typical examples. Made by accounts with names like “NightmareCanvas”, “CreatureCapture” or “CursedContent”, they carry hashtags like <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptidtiktok/" target="_blank">#cryptidtiktok</a> and <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/nightmarefuel/" target="_blank">#nightmarefuel</a>. These are pretty fun. Assuming the viewer doesn’t take this seriously, these function as an entertaining creepy short. Mostly, the commenters play along with silly jokes about it. They get it.</p> <p><strong>The questionable reality-adjacent vids</strong></p><p>Videos that look more possibly real might grab a lot more people’s attention outside of the <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/nightmarefuel/" target="_blank">#nightmarefuel</a> crowd. Many of these videos appear to come from Central and South America and feature what is said to depict a local folklore creature come to life. You can find the most popular of these videos being promoted by paranormal sites, like Coast to Coast AM. They often write up a summary featuring the location and background of the stated creatures which will reinforce and share the legend to a wider audience. That would be fine if the content wasn’t explicitly linked to a hoaxed video.</p><p>The latest of these is a short video of what is called a Chaneque said to have been found in Veracruz, Mexico. A translated version from <a href="https://www.aztecaveracruz.com/tendencia/captan-chaneque-veracruz-como-era-figura-vista-tejeria" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a local TV network</a> says the following:</p><blockquote><p>The state of Veracruz is one of the regions with the most legends and myths about strangers in the country, and the appearance of a Chaneque in 2025 has made it clear.</p><p>The images show a humanoid figure with large eyes, wrinkled skin and pointed ears that emits indescribable sounds with a hoarse voice while trapped in a rocky area.</p><p>However, this clip quickly went viral on social media, where users questioned whether or not it was a {chaneque}, as this could have been made with artificial intelligence.</p></blockquote><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFc7cmHSjtM" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFc7cmHSjtM</a></p><p>So, this was presented in a sober manner. I am, however, losing valuable details because of the language barrier. I can’t tell if this is like the clickbait we get in the US on certain media sites (particularly FM radio station websites) that are designed for attention and ad revenue, not as news.</p><p>The background of the <em>chaneque</em> and other examples like these have a strong supernatural connotation. Also in this past month, Coast to Coast featured a story and video of a “demonic humanoid” in <a href="https://www.cronica.com.ar/paranormal/VIDEO-ATERRADOR-extrana-criatura-humanoide-acecha-en-Saladillo-20250311-0166.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Argentina</a>. Any moderately critical thinking will flag this as fake right off. </p><p>These shorts almost never have appropriate details for investigation. That’s not their purpose. They are meant to be consumed and shared, not researched. I cannot tell how they are perceived in their local context and I would like to know. Is it like our reaction to the Bat Boy cover of the Weekly World News tabloids? </p><p>Experiencing the presence of folklore creatures is normal in other cultures. However, inevitably, some English-speaking commenters are either childishly gullible (or are children, which is a reasonable possibility) or they are playing along with the alternative reality where it’s fun to believe these creatures exist.</p><p>The popularity of these creature shorts, and the willingness of paranormal sites to feature them as potential cryptids lend support to the Pop Cryptid model, which asserts that we really aren’t interested in the zoology anymore, but in entertainment.</p><p><strong>Questioning the assumptions we make about supernatural cryptids</strong></p><p>Let’s explore a bit deeper into the concept that other cultures have different views on supernatural entities. </p><p>This week, a paper by Roy Ellen titled <em>Visualizing Spirit Entities: Naming, Classification, and<br>Pictorial Representation of Pseudo-Natural Kinds in Nuaulu Cosmography</em>, published in <em>Folklore</em> caught my attention due to its reference to the overlap between spirit entities and animals. The Nuaulu people are in Seram, Indonesia. The author notes that while studying Nuaulu ethnozoology, it was “difficult to enquire about knowledge of animal forms without yielding related data on spirits, or to enquire about spirits without yielding data on animals.”</p><p>This topic has always interested me, but it fails to generate enough thought in the sci-cryptid researcher community. Cultures very different from our embedded culture interpret spirits and the supernatural very differently from our frame. There is a complication that arises via the translation since western audiences aren’t taking that difference into account.</p><p>Ellen writes that some of the native words can refer simultaneously to the animal and the spirit; spirits can inhabit animals and influence their behavior; animals may originate from spirits. The overlapping and multi-dimensionality is complex.</p><p>This is not uncommon. From the previous story about the <em>chaneque</em>, we are required to consider how accounts reporting encountering folklore creatures are received in the community. For comparison, there are certainly populations in the US where outright belief in ghosts, demons, angels and various other creatures are mainstream and not unusual. Context matters.</p><p>Cryptozoology researchers who claim a scientific framing in research will strip out the non-natural characteristics in the reported descriptions and assume a zoological animal is hiding in there somewhere. Such a process is prone to massive errors. They simply aren’t seeing important aspects of the bigger picture – that the “animal” can’t be discovered at all because it’s a spirit.</p><p>The most obvious example of use of native legends in this way is for Bigfoot itself. You can’t capture Bigfoot because he’s not an ape. He’s non-corporeal. Many cryptids suddenly seem to acquire a history related to native legends in order to boost its age and credibility. How do cryptozoologists <strong>know</strong> if the legend is realistically connected to the modern stories of encounters? They don’t. They assume it, giving the cryptid a much more colorful and credible history but misleading themselves. Or, has the inclusion of native legends greased the wheels for cryptids to become predominately non-zoological? I think that might have played a part, as well as the current practice of people exploring alternative spiritualities.</p><p>The Ellen paper can be found <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0015587X.2024.2426885" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p><strong>Cryptid media – The Sasqualogist</strong></p><p><em>The Sasqualogist</em> is an independent drama/comedy staring Joseph Granda as a Bigfoot researcher and seeker. Website: <a href="https://www.thesasqualogist.com/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.thesasqualogist.com/</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04-pMjZoaBo" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04-pMjZoaBo</a></p><p>The new film, out soon, has as one of its themes, two people with different views on the nature of Bigfoot. Is it an ape to be studied and maybe captured? Or is it an inter-dimensional being flitting in and out of our world? That’s a core item of the pop cryptid theme right there – the changing nature of cryptids. Old orthodox views using the fringe science framing, is put up against the wide-open anything-goes belief. The writer/director of the film refers to these two groups as the “Apers” and the “Woos”. He further explains why he tackled this topic:</p><blockquote><p><a href="https://filmfreeway.com/TheSasqualogist" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Director Statement: Why Bigfoot?</a></p><p>At the tender age of 10, my father walked away from our home, vanishing from my life forever. Years later, his lifeless body was discovered near the Sequoia National Forest. The absence of a father casts a haunting shadow over a young man, leaving behind a lingering void that never truly dissipates. It took me years to unravel the roots of my obsession with Bigfoot, tracing it back to the loss of my father amidst the wilderness of abandonment.</p><p>From childhood memories of the Six Million Dollar Man grappling with Sasquatch to my adulthood compulsion to collect Bigfoot memorabilia, each encounter served as a silent yearning for a surrogate guide through life’s dense forests. “THE SASQUALOGIST” is not merely a movie; it’s a journey into the depths of human longing, a quest for connection with something larger than ourselves. </p></blockquote><p>Note that we have the 1970s depiction of cryptids, cryptid merch, symbolism regarding keeping the mystery alive, and shades of Missing 411 belief where people attempt to reframe an accident into something huge and mysterious. That’s a lot of interesting bits and pieces packed into a movie. The film was shown at film festivals last year but I can’t find it streaming yet. The website says it’s coming soon. Watch for it.</p><p><strong>Blurry Florida feral cat causes a stir</strong></p><p>On a regular basis, the news media will pick up on a Facebook post from an organization or person who has captured a strange thing on a game camera that is not readily identifiable. And the internet then embarks on what I call “mass opinionation” where everyone adds their uninformed two cents about what it is. Most often the comments are jokey, but many people play pretend wildlife experts. Frequently, when the animal has glowing eyes resulting from the image capture, some wild and crazy opinions are proposed. This happened last week when a (very) cat like creature was caught on the camera roll on public lands by the South Florida Wildlands Association. They posted the pic to Facebook and <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article302166619.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the story got picked up by the Miami Herald</a>. </p> <blockquote><p>“Looks a little bit wrong and a little bit right for a number of different species,” the foundation wrote in the post. “Anyone want to venture a guess?” The post has racked up hundreds of reactions and comments, including references to legendary shape-shifters and the chupacabra, a vampire-like beast of legends said to have “glowing red eyes.”</p></blockquote><p>Ugh. I’d bet on a feral house cat or some imported, escaped non-native cat. There is no need to invoke extreme explanations. I’m flummoxed by why a legitimate organization would do this kind of stunt other than it gets a ton of attention. I suppose it’s interesting data to find a feral cat in this area. But, in the end, it does promote misinformation.</p><p>Game cameras that take images in the dark will blur and distort the subject because it’s moving and the image capture speed is too slow. Instead of taking account of how that will happen, people will take the image literally and wildly speculate on what the blurry creature is. There is nothing confusing about the photo, just about the intent of its promotion.</p><p><strong>Loch Ness Quest 3</strong></p><p>The collective Loch Ness monster search, The Quest, is <a href="https://lochness.com/join-the-quest/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">returning for the third year</a>. The Loch Ness Centre has updated their Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to search the waters and are adding baited camera traps. The 4 day event in May brings people from all over the world to the Loch to participate in the search. Every year, someone finds some tantalizing bit that the media can chew on but the monster is myth, so it’s never going to fully appear. But the myth goes on… </p><p><strong>Royal Mail mythical stamps</strong></p><p>The British Royal Mail is <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0eg2evrq55o" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">releasing a set of eight new stamps</a> from different regions across the UK that show the “rich mythological heritage”. Nessie is included along with Black Shuck (my favorite), selkies, Cornish piskies, (Welsh) Blodeuwedd, folklore figure Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool), the Grindylow and Beowulf & Grendel. The artwork is fabulous. </p><p>I wonder if they will get complaints about lumping in the “real” Nessie with the “myths”.</p><p><strong>Cryptids are “hot”, particularly in WV</strong></p><p>Linking back to <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-9/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">PCS 9,</a> regarding a new zine for West Virginia about folklore traditions, <a href="https://wvpublic.org/traditions-the-ghost-of-ruth-ann-and-other-local-w-va-lore/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this article</a> about the projects shows just how popular cryptids are, noticed by people who didn’t know what they were at first. Then they saw the public reaction. Now they are aware. Lydia Warren, the director of the Folklife center in West Virginia remarked at how impressed they were with the turnout for the Veggie Man festival in 2024:</p><blockquote><p>While we were at Veggie Man Day, they had booked all these amazing vendors, all these really cool West Virginia artists to do cryptid and other paranormal themed artwork. So, there were vendors who had dolls made out of felt, that were little cryptid dolls. There were people doing amazing drawings of Mothman, and, obviously, Veggie Man because it was Veggie Man Day.</p></blockquote><p>In discussion with the founding director, they realized <strong>“this cryptid thing is really, this is hot. This is a big deal.”</strong> And they decided to pursue the new publication. The pop cryptid model in action!</p><p>When asked why cryptids are big, she notes the interest in all things Appalachia which follows from the cryptid depictions in the game <em>Fallout</em>. Along with media, particularly the <em>Mountain Monsters</em> TV show, people have built connections around folklore creatures. She also comments that cryptids are a safe and fun topic in these divided times. They are copyright free, fun, and become cultural touchstones. Gee, it seems like someone has been reading my <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-goes-the-cryptid/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Goes the Cryptid page</a>!</p><p>Veggie Man is a lower-tier cryptid, derived from one story in the 1960s in Marion County where a man of good reputation saw an injured “human” that “looked very vegetable-ish”. The story, associated with UFOs, was promoted by renowned legend promoter Gray Barker. The Veggie Man Day festival takes place in July at the Folklife Center in Fairmont, WV.</p> <p>Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to sharon(at)sharonahill.com. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.</p><p>For more, click on <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-goes-the-cryptid/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop goes the Cryptid landing page</a>. Make sure you <a href="https://sharonahill.com/subscribe-to-posts/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">subscribe </a>to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. </p><p>Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on <a href="https://sharonahill.substack.com" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Substack</a>. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!</p> <span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator</span> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-10/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 10</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-10/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 10</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-9/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 9</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-9/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 9</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-8/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 8</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-8/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 8</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-7/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 7</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-7/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 7</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-issue-6/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 6</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-issue-6/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 6</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-5/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 5</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-5/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 5</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-4/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 4</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-4/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 4</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-3/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 3</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-3/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 3</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-2/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 2</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-2/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 2</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-1/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 1</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-1/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 1</a></strong></p> <p></p> <p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/1/" target="_blank">#1</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/chupacabra/" target="_blank">#chupacabra</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptid/" target="_blank">#cryptid</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/cryptozoology/" target="_blank">#Cryptozoology</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/death-of-a-unicorn/" target="_blank">#deathOfAUnicorn</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/pop-cryptid/" target="_blank">#popCryptid</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/reddit/" target="_blank">#reddit</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/roller-coaster/" target="_blank">#rollerCoaster</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/scientific/" target="_blank">#scientific</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/sea-serpents/" target="_blank">#seaSerpents</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/skinwalker/" target="_blank">#Skinwalker</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/wendigo/" target="_blank">#Wendigo</a></p><p><a href="https://sharonahill.com/?p=9144" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">sharonahill.com/?p=9144</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p>
Sharon A. Hill<p><strong>Pop Cryptid Spectator 2</strong></p><p>In this edition:</p><ul><li>News: Two deaths dubiously linked to Bigfoot hunting</li><li>Cryptid Media See This – Out There: Crimes of the Paranormal</li><li>Cryptid Media Skip This – Lost Monster Files</li><li>Update on naming taboo cryptids</li><li>AI cryptid carnival</li><li>Google Earth cryptids</li><li>Hood cryptids meme</li></ul><p>Hello and welcome to the 2nd Pop Cryptid Spectator – my chronicle of observing the changing appearance of and attitudes towards “cryptids” in popular culture. My intent with this project is to highlight the fun ways legendary or dubious animals are showing up in modern media, to share interesting news bits about them, and to explore the expansion of cryptozoology into a mass cultural phenomenon – a cornucopia of strange entities that are labeled as “cryptids”.</p><p><strong>News</strong></p><p><strong>Two men die searching for Bigfoot</strong></p><p>Cryptid-related headlines appeared just after Christmas as two Oregon men were found dead in Gifford Pinchot Forest in Washington after they “failed to return from a trip to look for Sasquatch,” authorities said. This area is known for many Sasquatch sightings. However, I could find <strong>no</strong> report directly linking the outing to a Bigfoot excursion. In the subsequent days, I have not been able to find out much more about the intentions of the two hikers. Some commenters to news posts said they knew the men and expressed that it was not Bigfoot hunt but just a regular hike. I certainly can’t tell if this was true either, but the men appeared unequipped for camping outdoors, and that they perished from exposure in the cold and wet weather. Hikes in the woods here in the winter is not recommended. Rescuers spent Christmas facing dangerous conditions during the search.</p><p>It’s possible to assume a more gracious explanation – that the men were Bigfoot enthusiasts who hoped to see the creature. The ultimately unfortunate outcome was subsequently linked with the cryptid, which seemed to be out of proportion, as if belief in Bigfoot was the cause of death. Several commenters on the news stories, unsurprisingly, were cruel and mocked the men based on speculation about their behavior. Worse than that, some people took the tragedy even farther by saying that the men didn’t die from exposure, but from some other cause that officials are covering up. This is nonsense propelled by irrational and contrived ideas under the umbrella of a book series called “Missing 411” by Bigfoot writer David Paulides. Promotion of a sensationalistic cause for the tragedy works as clickbait for attention mongers. It’s unfair and ghoulish, and should be dismissed as such.</p> <p>At least one news piece noted that certain tourism efforts in this area encourage hikes to look for Bigfoot, tacitly suggesting that local officials are promoting this type of potentially dangerous activity to outsiders. </p><p>Many people each year get lost in the woods and some perish. Many more people take forest excursions with the notion that they might have their own personal encounter with the unknown. It’s not “crazy” or worthy of scorn, but a sober lesson about safety and taking precautions when hiking. </p><p><strong>Cryptid media</strong></p><p><strong>See This – Out There: Crimes of the Paranormal</strong></p><p>A paranormal-themed docu-series streaming on Hulu from September 2024 surprised me by being well-written and produced, as well as captivating. That’s a rarity! But <em><a href="https://press.hulu.com/shows/out-there-crimes-of-the-paranormal/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Out There: Crimes of the Paranormal</a></em>, while sounding atrocious and potentially exploitative, was not only jammed packed with good content but also featured some truly heartbreaking stories directly related to cryptids or cryptid-adjacent.</p><p>I was impressed by the first episode on “Lizard People” which mainly centered on the paranoid conspiratorial belief about Reptilians which played into a Christmas 2020 suicide bombing in Nashville, Tennessee. The episode also touched on the legend of Lizard Man of Bishopville.</p><p>Episode 3 covered the growth of the legend of the Goat Man of Pope Lick, Kentucky. The town has a love/hate relationship with the Goat Man as legend tripping by young people results in deaths by attempting to traverse the active train trestle bridge. A festival to celebrate the Goat Man legend/cryptid feels, to some, disrespectful to the memory of several who died and perhaps increases the odds that more people visit and venture into harms way.</p><p>The content of all 8 episodes consists of interviewees, some of whom are telling their own story for the first time. The complex details of each episode topic are well-managed by the editing. Each succeeds in distilling a full narrative into an understandable and fascinating piece. The show also uses bits of animation to reconstruct scenes. To me, this is preferable over acted reconstructions. I recommend this show, produced by the Duplass Bros., at least as an example of how nonfiction TV about paranormal subjects can be smart and done well, contrary to the majority of examples.</p><p><strong>Skip This – The Lost Monster Files</strong></p><p>As one of the contrary examples, do not bother with the awful run of <em>The Lost Monster Files</em>, a cryptid show on Discovery channel based on the files of Ivan T. Sanderson. It’s not low budget, but it’s low on originality and almost insultingly dumb. <a href="https://sharonahill.com/tag/lost-monster-files/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">I watched all the episodes (so you don’t have to).</a> They did chop jobs on the chupacabra, the abominable snowman of North America, the Thunderbird, the Minnesota Iceman, the Kodiak sea monster, and the Gowrow of Arkansas. You can read my reviews to see the details regarding each episode, including the obvious oversimplifications, lack of experience from the cast, fabricated process of inquiry and staged investigation, and the extreme speculation and lack of reasoning found in their conclusions. It was a total bust in that it misinformed and conflated ideas without being at all entertaining. I’d rather not see the likes of it again.</p><p><strong>Update on taboo “cryptids”</strong></p><p>In the <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-1/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spectator #1</a>, I talked about the attempt to remove mention of two certain spirit/magical creatures based on Native lore from the cryptid subreddit. As I explained last post, I’ll call them the “W” and “SW” to avoid mentioning the names since that is seen as potentially dangerous or at least disrespectful, and perpetuates misconceptions about Native beliefs.</p><p>The renaming contest stalled quickly. People have suggested some names for the entities but none are helpful. Neither entity is referred to on the forum as representing what the “W” and “SW” actually represented in Native lore, and some posters have expressed their disgust, attempting to state the authentic origins of the SW as humans using witchcraft or the W as a spirit. </p><p>For the “W”, the names are meant to distinguish the skeletal “antlered” entity, depicted as huge and horrific, whose horns are not part of the indigenous lore. The leading contender for the alternate name is “Stag Man”. This version is seen everywhere due to popular art and a Hollywood movie. </p> <p>The “SW” entity stories made popular by a book and TV show based on the paranormal ranch tales, depicts encounters outside the context of Navajo lore. The story has morphed into a being that is pale and spindly, absorbing the look and behaviors of the creepypasta creature, the Rake. (Confusingly, some depictions of the W also resemble an emaciated, pale creature.) It’s difficult to roll back that misinformation and correct the labeling when it becomes ingrained in popular culture.</p><p>The conversation at r/cryptids came right back around to enforcing contrived boundaries on the word “cryptid” and how neither entity should be mentioned at all – either in the the original or the popularly modified version. It’s not clear anything was accomplished by the effort to fix confusion except to highlight it.</p><p>I did wonder how both indigenous terms got into the common lists of pop cryptids. I had suspected that the umbrella of “cryptid” (as any thing of dubious existence) just organically encompassed them at some point in the 2000s. However, I’ve since discovered that both terms are included in in Eberhart’s renowned encyclopedia, <em>Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology</em> (2002). In it, “SW” is said to resemble a werewolf or bigfoot. “W” is in the cannibal giant category, which overlaps with several other creatures that are lumped into Bigfoot/Sasquatch discussions by some modern speculators.</p><p>Things are, therefore, quite messy, because the SW and W are based on culture, stories, and legends. We’re not dealing with zoological samples here; tales evolve far faster than animals. Cryptids are defined by the stories told about them. It will be hard to put these now well-known monsters back into their original contexts.</p><p><strong>AI cryptid carnival</strong></p><p>Social media is lousy with AI generated videos of extreme cryptids and manufactured images of fake creatures. It’s not clear if people think these are real, even though they are obviously not. It’s possible the audiences just play along because it’s fun to imagine, though some may lose the ability to distinguish the boundaries between fact and fiction. Examples I found this week illustrate the widespread problem caused by AI creating cryptid material.</p><p>In the Xmas issue of <em>Fortean Times</em> (No. 452), Dr. Karl Shuker pointed out the growing problem of AI generated videos and images circulated as real cryptids. Correspondents sent him images, in this instance, of giant owls, though Bigfoot is the most common subject seen in manufactured images. Any semi-expert eye can spot the flaws in these “too good to be true” images.</p> <p>In Episode 99 of <em>The Cryptid Factor</em> podcast (October 2024) – the long running show featuring actor and comedian Rhys Darby – Buttons, the producer, asked Chat GPT to suggest cryptid news. He discovered that the algorithm manufactures fake news stories regarding cryptids based on conspiracy ideas and other associated themes. </p><p>According to the <em>Unexplained Mysteries</em> web site, the top cryptid story of 2024 was <a href="https://sharonahill.com/made-you-look-zoos-create-cryptids/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bristol zoo creating a faked photo to drum up business.</a> This was a clear fake, but again, I’m just not sure who believes this was a real mystery. </p><p>These examples show how cryptozoology is one of the prime news areas for manufactured claims, a well worn path for decades. Fiction is often mixed in alongside facts making it more difficult to tease out what may be real. At this point, every cryptid image, video or report online should be considered fiction, by default, unless multiple legitimate sources can confirm it (not just repeat it).</p><p><strong>Google earth cryptids</strong></p><p>Sticking with the explosion in fake content posing as genuine, here is an example of a fake that got quite a bit of traction – an image showing Godzilla appearing on Google Earth. There ought to be a name for movie creatures that get reported in real life – and there IS! They have been dubbed “scryptids” by Monster Talk host and cryptid historian Blake Smith. </p><p>The idea of Godzilla being a real creature is absurd but someone could not resist manufacturing an image that shows the kaiju swimming alongside a boat full of shocked tourists off Japan. The video of the reveal shows the person zooming in from the Google Earth platform. However, after a cut you aren’t supposed to notice, the manufactured imagery appears. <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sea-monster-video/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Snopes.com reports</a> that the video was seen across social media platforms and websites. It was particularly popular on TikTok, MSN (which syndicates news stories from other outlets), the <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1912904/google-maps-godzilla-reddit" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">UK Express</a>, YouTube, and Instagram. As if seeing Godzilla in the ocean wasn’t enough of a clue, the clear giveaway that this is nonsense is that there are no “street views” of the ocean on Google Earth. Obviously. In the moment of seeing a fun and surprisingly reveal, people forget that. </p><p><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@hidden.on.google.earth/video/7377507909300751648?lang=en" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tiktok.com/@hidden.on.google.earth/video/7377507909300751648?lang=en</a></p><p>There have been several other cryptid hoaxes that used Google Earth/Maps and we certainly will see more. </p><ul><li>Sail Rock, north of Antarctica, was <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2016/6/20/11978930/sea-monster-google-maps-facebook-rock-fake" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said to be a giant squid or “kraken”</a> by some speculative web sites. Uh, it’s a rock.</li><li>People have claimed to have found other sea or lake monsters including <a href="https://www.livescience.com/45014-loch-ness-monster-apple-maps.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a boat wake as Nessie</a>.</li><li>Who can forget Crabzilla! In 2014, a satellite view was said to show <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/news/five-reasons-why-crabzilla-is-definitely-not-real-9794056.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a gigantic crab off the pier in Whitstable, Kent.</a> It was quickly debunked.</li></ul><p><strong>Hood cryptids</strong></p><p>What are “hood cryptids”? This is a meme from December 2024 that serves as yet another in a parade of endless example of the extended use of the word “cryptid” to mean any weird creature whose existence has been suggested, but regarded as highly unlikely. “Cryptid” is used to describe photos that are distorted so that the subject looks unnatural or unsettling. (See also r/cryptiddogs for more hilarious examples.)</p><p>“<a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/hood-cryptids-forgive-me-mother" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hood cryptids</a>” is a TikTok trend of sharing photos of a younger person with some phrasing such as “When I grow up I want to be a…” followed by an altered, exaggerated, ridiculous image with the caption “<a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/whats-up-with-all-the-videos-about-hood-cryptids-the-forgive-me-mother-tiktok-trend-explained" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Forgive me Mother</a>“. The origin appears to be an Instagram account that would post freaky images of rap artists. As happens with social media, others copy the actions and they evolve into memes.</p><p>That’s a wrap for the second Pop Cryptid Spectator. I did not do a video for this version as I did for the first one because the ratio of effort vs return was low. I’d also love to do a podcast but I’d need some help with that becasue it’s a ton of work. Though, it seems like this is a pretty niche topic that many people who are already immersed in cryptozoology seem primed to reject. They would rather hang on tightly to their existing view and not embrace the inevitable wider scope. So, I’ll keep plugging away at this. If you like it, <strong>share this with your cryptid-loving friends</strong>. I know there are millions of people out there who are interested in cryptids because I see them everywhere. I’d like to reach them and hear their views!</p><p>For more, click on <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-goes-the-cryptid/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop goes the Cryptid landing page</a>. While you’re there, make sure you <a href="https://sharonahill.com/subscribe-to-posts/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">subscribe </a>to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. </p><p>You can email me with comments, suggestions or questions at Popcryptid(at)proton.me</p><p>More:</p> <span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator</span> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-8/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 8</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-8/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pop Cryptid Spectator 8</a></strong></p> <p></p> <a href="https://sharonahill.com/pop-cryptid-spectator-7/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span class="">Pop Cryptid Spectator 7</span></a> <p><span class=""></span></p> <p><strong><a class="" 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